Amy Winehouse died at the tender age of 27, as did several 'wild but talented' musicians including Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Brian Jones and Jim Morrison. They all missed, by a year or so, their 'Saturn Return'. This is a sobering influence that slows us down and sharpens us up. It's like a wide, sheltered ledge on the steep cliff of our twenties. But before we can rest on it, we first have to get to it. If only any of these musicians had hung on a little longer, it might have been a very different story. For more on Amy Winehouse
click here.

Hi Jonathan,
A reader's letter suggested that only by being passive can we be guided by the will of the divine. Does that logic mean we should not use medical intervention to extend life? And does that mean we should not allow caesarian births? Or assisted conception? Having heard my partner's anguish at watching his mother die a long and painful death after life support was withdrawn, I think sometimes we humans might perhaps be 'allowed' to act as agents of the divine. After all, we allow ourselves to assist the divine to end the suffering of an animal... Mary

Hi Jonathan,
Keep advising people to follow their hearts. Some people confuse heart-speak with emotions. Gut feelings are more about changeable emotions, like fear, anger, happiness or sadness. Being in your heart space allows you to feel connected to unconditional love. That is the very best place from which to ask a question and then to feel, listen and know the answer, without interference from the mind. A mind is like a tiny drop of water, a heart allows us to feel, know and understand the ocean. When we do this, we make decisions that benefit everyone. Stefan

I have spent the last few days feeling sorry. Sorry for those teenagers in Norway who died in that awful attack. Sorry for Amy Winehouse, her lost talent and her devastated family. Sorry that astrology, for all it can sometimes reveal the future with amazing accuracy, seemingly can't warn of events like Oslo. The signs were clear enough in Amy's birthchart. I expressed my fears for her future just weeks ago. But even where an event can be foreseen, prescience is pointless unless it is accompanied by an understanding of how to stop a sorry prophecy from coming true. To read my article on Amy click here.

Dear Jonathan,
As a fan of Amy Winehouse I was glad you wrote about her but why didn't you also mention the Norwegian massacre? Sara

Dear Sara,
Death is never written on someone's horoscope. The most a horoscope reveals are several dates throughout a person's life when they may be especially vulnerable. Amy was going through such a time. So, I'm sure, were many of those poor teenagers. But the only chart which might have given a useful warning would have been the gunman's. I wish I could develop a reliable way to single out such people in advance.

Mercury will be retrograde for most of August. That will hamper many processes that involve travel, transport, communication and explanation. It doesn't, though, mean nothing will get done, or said, or understood or sorted out. We have a tendency, sometimes, to see a small stumbling block as a towering obstacle. Mars opposing Pluto this month may exacerbate that. Jupiter's slow progress may also cause some to feel a loss of faith. But this is actually a time when, during a phase of reflection, amazing, inspiring discoveries can be made.

Mercury will be retrograde for most of August. That will hamper many processes that involve travel, transport, communication and explanation. It doesn't, though, mean nothing will get done, or said, or understood or sorted out. We have a tendency, sometimes, to see a small stumbling block as a towering obstacle. Mars opposing Pluto this month may exacerbate that. Jupiter's slow progress may also cause some to feel a loss of faith. But this is actually a time when, during a phase of reflection, amazing, inspiring discoveries can be made.